TRY LANDING TROPHY PIKE THIS WINTER!
In this part of the world, we are blessed with monster northern pike. While popular with fly in anglers, these fish usually get ignored by most anglers who are after a meal of walleye or crappie. In this article we cover the topic with some of the best pike ice anglers in the world.
Dave Shymr from Alberta has spent years fine tuning is approach to catching big pike through the ice. He is a student of the game, making notes after every day on the water. He is obsessed with these impressive animals.
When he goes fishing, he takes note of the barometric pressure, and moon phase as two key pieces of the puzzle In periods of low pressure, he says pike tend to become inactive, moving to deeper water and staying in one spot. He doesn’t pack his gear and go home though. He says it simply means downsizing your baits and covering ground. He compares it fishing for fussy, spread out perch or walleye.
PEAK TIMES FOR TROPHY PIKE
Shmyr says his best success has been during the initial falling of pressure and a day after the rising of pressure from a normal state. When the pike are active, he will upsize his bait which could be a 10-inch-long herring. He does carry a wide variety of dead bait and will change up often to see what is working. He says it helps to have two or three other anglers along so you can fine tune presentations a lot quicker.
MOON PHASE IMPORTANT
Moon phase is also a key factor in the pike fishing world but does vary with the body of water to some degree. Dave will document every day on the ice, and he includes the following:
Moon Phase / Barometric Pressure / Temperature / Wind / Location / Depth / Presentation / Size and Kind of Bait / Time of Day.
Shmyr says the patterns you come up with will surprise you in so many positive ways. This will also give you confidence on where you should be at the right time with the right bait.
LAKE OF THE PRAIRIES PIKE MASTER
Phil Paczkowski of Roblin is on the ice every day during the winter looking after his guests who rent ice shacks from him. While they go fishing for walleye Lake of the Prairies, in his spare time he heads out for monster pike. He, like Dave, believes stable weather is a key.
STABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE KEY
He says big pike love warmer, stable weather, roaming constantly in search of food. At the end of January last year.
Phil caught and released his personal best pike from Lake of the Prairies. It measured 119 centimetres (47inches) and by using the weight conversion chart, weighed approximately 15 kilograms (33 pounds). He likes to set his tip-ups on a big sand flat next to the main river channel. This area is about three metres in depth. He prefers that area, because when the fish are up on this flat, he believes they are actively looking for food.
GUSSY LOVES WINTER PIKE FISHING
Professional angler Jeff Gustafson loves to target them on his home waters of Lake of the Woods. He agrees that by far the best method is by using tip-ups and dead bait. He can’t believe more anglers don’t use them or even own one!
TIP-UPS A KEY TO SUCCESS
Gussy likes to use the Frabill Pro Thermal Round Tip-Up. While they have been around for years, he says they are great because they cover the hole. While they do provide some insulation to keep the hole from icing over as fast, they keep blowing snow and bright light from entering the hole, which he is a big fan of.
Gussy prefers heavy line, usually 40-pound test, designed for fishing on tip-ups, which is easy thick and easy to handle with gloves on. It’s strong and does not tangle. Gustafson likes to use the Northland Predator Rig to hang his baits but “quick-strike” rigs for hanging the bait can be made at home as well. He likes the Predator Rig is nice because it hangs the bait horizontally in a natural fashion.
Gussy just ties the rig directly to the heavy tip-up line and never seem to have any issues, the fish do not seem to care. For bait, frozen cisco his favourite, which he catches through the ice while fishing other species They are aggressive and like to eat small panfish sized spoons – if you find them, they are easy to catch.
DEAD BAIT IS THE TICKET
He has tried live bait many times and it never works as well as a dead bait does. On the quick strike rig you have two treble hooks on the rigs, so put one in the head of the bait and one in the back, usually around the dorsal fin. Gussy likes to let the bait hit the bottom then lift it up about one to two feet above bottom, and let it hang. When a fish bites, let it run briefly, then set the hook with a long sweep. If you let these fish run to long with the bait, they will swallow it and will often be hooked badly.
All these professionals will tell you if haven’t caught a trophy pike through the ice you don’t know what you have been missing!